Berlin's CDU picks Finance Senator Stefan Evers as lead candidate after Wegner steps back

Wegner pulls out after blackout controversy

Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner stepped back as the CDU's lead candidate on Monday, a move he said was meant to prevent the party from being weakened by personnel debates ahead of the 20 September state election. The withdrawal follows months of scrutiny over contradictory statements Wegner made about his actions during a power outage that began after an arson attack on the capital's electricity supply on 3 January. At its peak, 100,000 people were without power for days. Wegner first claimed he had started making crisis calls at 8:08 a.m. on the first day of the blackout, but his Senate Chancellery later admitted, after an urgent application by the newspaper Tagesspiegel, that no official calls about the outage were placed before 12:45 p.m. During that window, it emerged, he had played tennis.

I have indeed started making calls at 8:08 a.m. I spoke with the crisis teams, with the electricity grid.

Evers steps into the lead role

The CDU's district chairpersons proposed Stefan Evers for the top candidacy on Friday, and the state board confirmed the 46-year-old unanimously late on Monday afternoon. Evers also assumes the party leadership as acting state chairman, the Berlin CDU announced via X. Currently the deputy to the head of government (a post given the title Mayor in Berlin), Evers also serves as Finance Senator and, since the resignation of non-party Culture Senator Sarah Wedl-Wilson at the end of April, has been responsible for the culture portfolio as well.

I have a reputation for being factually competent, for digging into issues, for thinking fast and often speaking fast.

The uphill climb to 20 September

Evers inherits a difficult situation. With just over two months until polling day, the CDU has slumped to fourth place in recent surveys. An Infratest dimap poll in early July put the party at 17%, behind Die Linke, the Greens, and the AfD. The current governing coalition of CDU and SPD would command only 30% of the vote, well short of a majority. Evers, a lawyer who studied at the University of Potsdam and worked as an aide to CDU Bundestag members, has been a member of the Berlin House of Representatives since 2011. He served as deputy parliamentary group leader until 2018, as parliamentary managing director until 2023, and as general secretary of the state party from December 2016 to autumn 2023.

Wegner's financial calculus

Though no longer the lead candidate, Wegner will remain in office as Governing Mayor until the election. This decision has significant financial implications. Niko Härting, an honorary professor at the Berlin School of Economics and Law, calculated that by staying until the election instead of resigning now, Wegner preserves his entitlement to a transitional allowance worth 235,763.86 euros. Under Article 56(3) of the Berlin state constitution, a senator who resigns forfeits the right to the allowance. The transitional payment is granted for up to two years: three months at the full monthly salary of 17,463.99 euros, and the remainder at half that amount.

Anyone who resigns is 'punished' with the loss of their entitlement to the transitional allowance. Forgoing such a 'punishment' is worth a lot of money to Kai Wegner.

Loyal number two with sharp elbows

Evers has been a familiar face in the Berlin CDU's second rank for years. He was already general secretary under former state chair Monika Grütters, and when Wegner replaced her in 2019 he kept Evers in the post. Evers was a key architect of the CDU's successful 2023 election campaign, after which Wegner brought him into the state government as Finance Senator. He is regarded as loyal and did not join the public criticism of Wegner. In parliament he presents financial policy with technical precision, but political opponents say he spares no one and his attacks are often sharply worded. Opposition voices also charge that while Evers preaches solid budget policy in speeches, in practice he has co-signed Berlin's record debt. Ahead of the campaign he has already signalled fight, criticizing the free school meals championed by SPD parliamentary group leader Raed Saleh.